


Solace

by SennyriNamis23



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Comfort, M/M, nothing but fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2017-09-13
Packaged: 2018-12-27 16:20:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12084735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SennyriNamis23/pseuds/SennyriNamis23
Summary: A quiet moment on the ship leads to domesticity and snuggles. Set between Chapters 1 and 2 of KOTFE (near the end of those five years).





	Solace

**Author's Note:**

> Raj Politryk is my smuggler. Raelyn Politryk (who gets mentioned) is a Sith Warrior, romances Lana, Outlander, and the older sister to Raj.

Koth sat on the couch, legs outstretched, his hands loosely in his lap holding a datapad that he wasn’t looking at. He was staring into space, dark eyes glazed over with an expression Raj had seen only a few times; his brows were furrowed, the creases on the sides of his eyes were deep, and his lip twitched as he kept from talking aloud to himself. 

It had been four years since Koth defected. Four years of helplessly watching his homeworld take over the galaxy. Four years of watching the last of his friends march into battle and never return. Four years of watching worlds be killed and gutted for no reason other than to fuel the lust of Exarchs who had no tether. Zakuul wasn’t fighting for peace, it was fighting for power. Power for the Exarchs. Power for Arcann. Not for its people. It was ripping apart families, enslaving villages, destroying homes and governments and planets. And for what purpose? It had been four years and he still struggled with the consequences of the choice he made, even if he knew it was the right one. Raj knew the pain in Koth’s eyes because he’d suffered the same fate nearly a dozen years ago. When he defected from his own Empire.

He moved from the doorway back into their shared quarters for a moment, rustling through the trunk at the end of their bed and pulling out a blanket. Lana walked by the room with a mug of caf in her hands, stopping to nod at Raj before she continued. He could hear her murmur something to Koth - and his grumbled reply - and he wondered if she had the same idea he had. But when he poked his head back out, Lana was gone, and the datapad in Koth’s hands had been replaced with the mug of caf. He wondered briefly if Lana regretted defecting from the Sith Empire.

_Focus, Politryk. One person at a time._

Raj stood with a wince, silently cursing the ache that lingered in his chest, and wrapped the blanket around his shoulders before he stepped out into the lounge area. Koth flicked his eyes towards the movement and the beginnings of a smile appeared at the edges of his mouth.

“Come to inspect your land, Your Highness?” he asked dryly, taking a sip of the caf and sitting up a little bit straighter.

“Hmm, yes,” Raj replied in the most pompous Imperial accent he could muster, crossing the room to stand in front of Koth and gesturing to the couch, “This bit of land in particular.”

Koth left the mug of caf on the table beside them, and Raj plopped down beside him. He wrapped the blanket around both of them, taking the opportunity to also envelop him in a hug. Koth leaned into Raj with a sigh and buried his face in the other man’s shoulder. He pulled the blanket further across his body and curled up against his partner, who rubbed his arm and pressed a kiss to his head.

Raj squeezed gently, “You did the right thing, Koth.”

There was a nod on his shoulder, “I know. Doesn’t make it any easier.”

Lana emerged from the cockpit silently save for the clicking of her boots on the metal floor, but saw the boys on the couch and stopped in her tracks. She leaned gently against the doorway and pulled out a datapad, flicking through it like she wasn’t eavesdropping.

Raj ushered her over with his free hand, which Koth almost immediately took in his own and squeezed. Lana obliged with a gentle smile and crossed the room to perch on the arm of the couch, putting her hand on Koth’s shoulder. He pulled his head off Raj’s shoulder to look at her and reached for her hand. She smiled a little more warmly and almost looked… _content_?

The three of them were quiet for a long time, all just sitting together on the couch, Koth and Raj wrapped in the blanket with Lana’s hand still on the pilot’s shoulder. Raj’s mind started wandering, reminiscing on the past two years he’d spent with the two beside him. They were an interesting group, to be sure - a Sith Lord, a Zakuulan soldier, and an aimless Smuggler for hire - but they’d all seen each other’s highs and lows and put enormous amounts of trust in each other. He remembered the first time he realized he was actually in love with the Zakuulan pilot, and he wondered if his sister had felt the same fighting alongside Lana. It was still weird how he felt more connected to Raelyn now than he did even when they were children.

The weight of Koth’s head on his shoulder again brought his attention back, and he started to rub his thumb on Koth’s absently. Raj pressed another kiss to his forehead, and Lana pushed herself off the couch, taking the cold mug of caf with her.

Her hand lingered on Koth as she spoke, “We’re not your crew, Koth. Raj and I cannot replace them. But we’ll be your family if you would like us to be.”

He just nodded appreciatively, trying not to cry.

“Even if you _don’t_ want us to be,” Raj chimed playfully, squeezing Koth’s hand again.

For the first time in days, all three of them were laughing together. And for even just a moment, they all could forget the people they left behind for this absurd venture. They could forget the turmoil of the galaxy, the betrayal of their homeworlds, the desperation of the people they’d been fighting to protect. They had each other, they had a ship, and they had a mission. That was all they needed.

Lana was the first who broke the moment, taking her hand off Koth’s and wandering back to her quarters, announcing that they’d arrive on Odessen in ten hours so they probably ought to rest before they get there. Koth and Raj still sat together on the couch, wrapped in each other and the blanket. 

“Do you ever regret defecting?” Koth asked after a moment.

Raj thought about his answer before he responded carefully, “Regret isn’t the word. I’m sorry for abandoning everyone I loved. For a long time, I missed having a family. I wished I had a place where I belong and a mission I could believe in. But I don’t and didn’t regret the choices I made. If I went back in time, I reckon I’d still make the same decisions.”

Koth nodded, “Zakuul was the only place I’d ever known. Even though I wasn’t born in the Capitol, it was the Zakuulan culture I knew. The Zakuulan people I loved. The Zakuulan Empire I believed in. And now… now I don’t have any of that. And I wonder if doing the right thing... if disobeying the orders of a tyrant, was worth losing everything I’ve ever known.”

“Koth,” Raj replied seriously, gently urging his partner to look him in the eyes, “You have saved so many lives _because_ you defected. There are hundreds, thousands, of people whose lives have been directly impacted by your defection. And not just on Denon. Altair Three, Arrun Prime, hell even the folks on Zakuul are living better because of your actions. Because you looked that Exarch in the eyes and said ‘no.’ You took a tremendous risk to help people you don’t even know. You haven’t lost those people or your culture, Koth. I can guarantee they don’t feel like they’ve lost you.”

He pressed his face back into Raj’s chest and sighed.

“And hey, you got me out of all this,” he joked, nuzzling Koth’s head, “I’d say that counts for something.”

Koth snuggled even more against him, “Counts for a lot.”

Raj smiled and reached down to kiss his forehead, “I love you.”

“Love you, too.”


End file.
